Messi: More to Barcelona than MSN

Lionel Messi has stressed there is more to Barcelona than the attacking trident he forms with Luis Suarez and Neymar.

Barcelona’s prolific trio have been key to their recent successes, with MSN helping the Catalans to the treble last season with 122 goals in all competitions.

Messi, Suarez and Neymar have been equally sublime in 2015-16 – all three were on target in the 3-1 win over Arsenal on Wednesday that sealed a Champions League quarter-final place – but the Argentine attacker has stressed Barcelona are not over-reliant on their forward line.

“Barcelona do not depend on MSN,” Messi told reporters at a Huawei event.

“We have a great squad and there is much more to Barcelona than just the three attackers. We have some amazing players.

“Neymar? Brazilian players are always a bit different. They have a lot of quality and it is great to be on the pitch with them, first with Ronaldinho and now with Neymar.”

Barcelona, who top La Liga  with an eight-point lead, are on a 38-game unbeaten run in all competitions, breaking Real Madrid’s previous undefeated record of 34 matches, but Messi is adamant all he cares about is winning silverware as Luis Enrique’s men chase another treble. 

“Records are not important to us. All that matters to us is winning titles. We always want to win more. If we break records on our way to winning titles, that’s obviously nice,” he added.

“The good atmosphere in the squad is the key to our success. We have players who have already won it all, but are still as enthusiastic as at the start of their careers. That’s very important as well. The good atmosphere and the desire to keep winning more things are key. My goal is always to win everything I can win, both with Barcelona and Argentina. 

“We are not writing off anyone in La Liga. We are only thinking about ourselves. Every game we win is game fewer until the end.

“The treble? We are taking things one step at a time. Our goal is to challenge for all trophies and we are doing just that at the moment.

“All teams that are still in the Champions League are difficult opponents. It will be complicated. I am only thinking about football. Everything else is less important.”

Messi also briefly touched on his future and once more stressed that he will only leave Barcelona for his boyhood club Newell’s Old Boys in Argentina.

“There is no chance that I will play for another team than Barcelona that is not Newell’s,” the forward concluded.